Louise Sauvage OAM (b. 1973) is a four-time Paralympian who dominated international wheelchair track racing from the early 1990s. Born in Perth with the congenital spine condition myelomeningocele, Sauvage sped to public notice at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games, where she won three gold medals and one silver. The only Australian to win gold on the track at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games (with four medals), she lit the flame at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000, and went on to win two gold medals and one silver. She also won gold in demonstration events at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics. She has set five world records and gained eleven world championships, and won the women's wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon four times. Sauvage was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2007, Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2011 and named a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Legend in 2019. Now a sports coach and motivational speaker, Sauvage stresses that 'you never know what you can achieve until you try'.
Canadian-born team Denis Montalbetti and Gay Campbell are renowned for their portraiture, particularly their photographs of athletes. This dramatic portrait of Sauvage against a stormy sky was taken in 1996, while she was in training for the Atlanta Paralympic Games.
Purchased 1999
© Montalbetti & Campbell
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